A Perris man who stomped on a pelican trying to nab his fish at Newport Pier was sentenced to community service and probation, prosecutors said Wednesday. Daniel Richard Moreno, 20, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty Tuesday at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. He was sentenced to 20 days in jail but was given the option of serving his time with Caltrans. Moreno was given credit for time served after his arrest for the incident in March. He has 12 days left to serve and can either do it behind bars or with Caltrans, which could require him picking up trash on the side of the freeway in an orange vest, officials said.

A Perris man is scheduled to appear in court Friday on charges he attacked a pelican on the Newport Pier last week when it tried to steal his catch. Daniel Richard Moreno, 19, will be in court Friday for a pre-trial hearing after pleading not guilty last week to misdemeanor animal cruelty. Police said that at about 3:30 p.m. on March 14 Moreno was fishing on the pier and set one of the fish he caught on the ground next to him. That’s when a pelican standing on a nearby building’s roof swooped down and tried to grab Moreno’s fish, authorities said.

Months ago, a pelican was spotted in Irvine tangled in fishing line, hooks and a lure. Rescuers said the bird was wrapped like a pretzel as they worked for days to free and treat her. This week, after surgeries to rebuild her beak and mend fractures, Nigel the pelican - or Nigelina, as some began calling the bird after he was discovered to be a female - was released into the wild. FOR THE RECORD: An earlier version incorrectly identified Nigel, or Nigelina to some, as a male pelican.

The Trojan Football Alumni Club will have its 40th annual golf classic May 9 at Pelican Hill Golf Course. Paul Salata, founder of Irrelevant Week, as well as other former Trojans: Anthony Davis, Paul McDonald, Brad Budde Rodney Peete, Matt Willig, Derrick Deese, Johnnie Morton, Curtis Conway and USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett are scheduled to appear. There will also be a post golf party at the Palm Garden Ballroom, part of the Island Hotel. The alumni club will have a silent auction.

The award for information leading to the arrest of anyone involved in the mutilation of a pelican found in Huntington Beach has jumped to $6,000, since the pelican was discovered more than a week ago. The endangered brown pelican, a roughly 3-year-old female, underwent a two-hour surgery Thursday at All Creatures Care Cottage in Costa Mesa to repair her throat pouch that may have been intentionally slit. The animal is recovering at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach.

An endangered brown pelican that nearly died from wing injuries that killed 10 others of its species took to the air Wednesday in Corona Del Mar after two weeks of rehabilitation. At Big Corona State Beach, those who cared for the bird set her free. Apparently eager to get back into the swing of things, the bird leaped into the air and didn’t turn back. That’s not unexpected considering her behavior in rehab, said Debbie McGuire, wildlife director of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, which nursed the pelican back to health.

NEWPORT BEACH A California brown pelican ? nicknamed "Crash" after colliding with a car windshield in June ? was well enough to be released at the water's edge in Corona del Mar Thursday. Huntington Beach's Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, which nursed Crash to health, turned her and 10 other now-healthy pelicans loose. Crash's accident may have been caused by domoic acid poisoning, caused by red tide algae; the other birds were young ones who either had trouble feeding or got tangled in fishing hooks and lines.

I can’t even begin to imagine what it would take for me personally to brutally attack a pelican like the guy from Perris did the other day (“Man faces cruelty charges,” March 25). Had I been fishing from the Newport Pier and a pelican swooped down and made an attempt to get my fish, I most likely would have found it quite amusing that the pelican would be as aggressive and probably very hungry to do such a thing. I might have said to the pelican, “shoo, let my fish alone,” and let it go at that.

Andrew Edwards Hope took flight at Little Corona beach Wednesday after more than two months in captivity, recuperating from a vicious attack by someone who nearly cut off the bird's throat pouch. "We've been calling her Hope because we've all been waiting for this day," said Debbie McGuire, anticipating the California brown pelican's release. McGuire is wildlife director for the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, where the pelican stayed while recovering from the apparent attack.

The Resort at Pelican Hill and the Spa at Pelican Hill recently received five stars in the annual Forbes Travel Guide . This is the 55th year for the ratings and the fifth consecutive year Pelican has earned the distinction. The Forbes Guide was previously known as the Mobil Travel Guide . Pelican, according to a news release, is the only hotel in Newport Beach to receive a five-star rating. The nearby Island Hotel at Fashion Island received four stars and also announced that it had become part of Preferred Hotel Group , a points system for luxury travelers.

Two Orange County resorts -- The Resort at Pelican Hill and Montage Laguna Beach -- earned new 2013 five-star ratings from the Forbes Travel Guide, formerly Mobil Travel Guide, Forbes announced Tuesday. In making the Forbes five-star list, Pelican Hill's hotel and Montage joined one other Orange County property, the St. Regis Monarch Beach. The Resort at Pelican Hill, which opened in 2008, became the first and only in Newport Beach to garner the rating. Both hotels have won top honors from various trade organizations, such as AAA's Five Diamond Award.

Passing through the thick double doors of The Resort at Pelican Hill's employee entrance feels a little like going to school. The broad, windowless corridor has the kind of floor that's good for rolling carts and making shoes squeak. The white walls are plastered with handmade collages and bulletin boards announcing upcoming events; and banners touting values like hard work and collaboration hung from the ceiling. While first-time visitors may note sweeping views of the coast, or the quiet calm of one of the more authentic Tuscan-style villages outside of, well, Tuscany, it's what happens back here, said Managing Director Giuseppe Lama, that has helped the Newport Coast resort earn its most recent accolade: five stars from Forbes Travel Guide.

Glenn Deck taught when he was being honored for being a great teacher Sunday night at the Balboa Bay Club. During his acceptance speech, the PGA director of instruction for Pelican Hill and Oak Creek Golf Clubs gave a tip to the people in attendance. He told them to find a way for golf to be fun. That was one of the many reasons why Deck was named Teacher of the Year by the PGA of America's Southern California Section. Deck can place the award next to a few others. He has earned past honors as one of Golf Magazine's Top 100 Teachers in America since 2002 and Golf Tips magazine's Top 25 U.S. Instructors in 2012.

The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach announced Tuesday that it was recognized as an outstanding luxury resort. Condé Nast Traveler readers ranked the resort as Southern California's top resort, with a score of 96.1. "We are delighted to be the first and only Southern California resort to earn three consecutive top honors, including a top national ranking, from Condé Nast Traveler readers, who are certainly among the world's most discerning travelers," Pelican Hill Managing Director Giuseppe Lama said in a prepared statement.

A priest convicted of abusing two boys he met in the 1980s remains in Orange County jail after he was arrested for violating his probation at the Resort at Pelican Hill, according to OC Weekly and jail records. In 2007, Michael Stephen Baker, 64, pleaded guilty to 12 felony counts of oral copulation with a person under 18 in a Los Angeles Superior Court, OC Weekly reports. The magazine reported Baker arrested at the pool of Newport Beach's Pelican Hill resort Aug. 17. --Lauren Williams

The second annual UC Irvine/Scott Brooks Golf Invitational is set for Sept. 18 at The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach. Brooks, a former standout basketball player at UCI and head coach of the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder for the past four seasons, is scheduled to attend the tournament that raises funds to support student-athlete scholarships at UCI. UCI head coaches and student-athletes from each of the university's 18 NCAA Division I...

Months ago, a pelican was spotted in Irvine tangled in fishing line, hooks and a lure. Rescuers said the bird was wrapped like a pretzel as they worked for days to free and treat her. This week, after surgeries to rebuild her beak and mend fractures, Nigel the pelican - or Nigelina, as some began calling the bird after he was discovered to be a female - was released into the wild. FOR THE RECORD: An earlier version incorrectly identified Nigel, or Nigelina to some, as a male pelican.

For the fourth year in a row, the Resort at Pelican Hill has earned the AAA Five Diamond Award. "From the beginning, Pelican Hill has instilled a specific culture in its people and in the product to passionately pursue a long-term vision focused on a world-class resort for the next 100 years, and beyond," said Kate Starr, Pelican Hill's public relations manager. "This is the focus that keeps Pelican Hill at the top. " Pelican Hill, which opened in Newport Coast in 2008, also received honors from Andrew Harper's Hideaway Report, Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, Forbes, Robb Report, Wine Spectator, Golf Magazine and Golf Digest.